THE POLLING-PLACES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3025, 6 April 1867, Page 4

THE POLLING-PLACES.

Our contemporary, "as in duty bound," takes us to task in a leader yesterday anent the Superintendency question and the pollingplaces. He is always great in law, and now quotes the Act of 1858 regulating elections. For once he happens to be right. His law is right, his quotation correct; — but the precedents, he forgot these. We were aware of the provision in the Act, but are also aware that at least in one case in this province, the Government, on application by thirty electors, did consent to declare a new pollingplace, after the Returning Officer had received the notice of election, and this was simply done by ante-dating the notice. It' was nofc possible for the settlers to know, until after the publication, what polling-places had been fixed. It may happen that the Government will not consent to amend their notice of polling-places, and then the worst charge that; can be laid to their door will be justifiable. Having regard to our contemporary's dependent position on Mr. Stafford's Government, and the part he haß taken to drag Mr. Williamson through the dirt to second his master's wishes, we can understand his defence of the Welling- 1 ton Government, and the practical disfranchisement of a great body of the electors. We need make no defence of Colonel Peacocke : his letter is an honour to his head and heart.

The Commissioner's certificates in respect to losses through the war will be delivered to claimants, on , application, at the Superintendent's office, between 11 o'clock a.m. and 2 o'clock p.m., on any day from April 8 to April 12, inclusive. We yesterday received a copy of, a new map of the city and suburbs, published to-day from the lithographic establishment of Messrs. J. Evans and Co. The map is elegantly printed in colours, and for neatness of design and elegance of workman* ship far surpasses anything of the kind hitherto produced in Auckland. We understand it is to be issued at a very trifling cost, which cannot fail to ensure it a wide-spread circulation; i We have to acknowledge the receipt from Mr. R. J. O'Sullivan, clerk of the Provincial Council, of Journal* of the Auckland Provincial Council, session 20, 1866-7. £ Mr. P. White has requested us to afford space ta, enable him to remove a misapprehension, which appears to exist, as to the meaning of that portion of his address at Otahulm, on the 26th ultimo, In which he narrates the substance of a conversation which he had with Mr. John Williamson relative to the_; Native Lands Act. The report w«s published as follows :— "He asked him [Mr. Williamson] if he had been a party to the passing of the Act prohibiting . Europeans from buying land from the natives. He replied that he was for free trade in the purchase of land from'the natives ; bat said, at the same time, 1 the Provincial Government ought to be in a position to buy land from the natives to satisfy the holders of , 40-acre grants coming out to the country." To that statement he wished to add, that it was, as he believed, Mr. Williamsons desire, in the event of hia being elected Superintendent, to be allowed equal privileges with private individuals to make purchases , of native lands, for the purpose of meeting existing claims by persons already in the province who had not exercised their land-orders. Beyond that, he! understood Mr. Williamson to say he did not wish to go. His firm conviction after the interview was, that Mr. Williamson did not intend to carry the, land regulations beyond the present demand of fortyacre land-holders. . A meeting of the shareholders of the Bank of Auckland is convened by Mr. James O'Neill to be held at 11 o'clock, on the morning of Tuesday next, at the Banking-house, for the purpose of considering j.be affairs of the bank. The adjourned annual public meeting of the ratepayers of the Pakuranga highway district will be held on the evening of Tuesday next, at seven o'clock, at Brady's Hotel, Howick. A public meeting of the settlers resident at the Lake, Stokes's Point, Riverhead, Lucas's Creek, and . the Wade is fixed to be held, on the 17th instant, at Mr. Crago's, Lucas's Creek, for the purpose of taking:; into consideration measures for the advancement of the district. At the Police Court, yesterday, five persons were punished for drunkenness. A young lad named. Alfred Burgess Griffiths was charged with assaulting a respectable-looking woman named Margaret Lamb, by striking her on the breast with his fist. After hearing the evidence, the Bench found him guilty, and ordered him to pay a fine of 55., or be imprisoned 48 hours. There were two assault cases withdrawn. The two soldiers named Thomas Young and Joseph Webb were remanded until next morning, the Commissioner of Police in the meantime to makeinquiries as to whether they were to embark with their regiment, the 50th, for England. A committee meeting of the Acclimatisation Society will be held this afternoon, at two o'clock, at the offices, Canada Buildings. yesterday afternoon an inquest was held by T. M. Philson, Esq., Coroner, and .a jury, at the Star Hotel, Newton, on view of the body of a man named Charles Apthorp Wheelwright. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased had been a lieutenant"' in the East India Company's service, and wai i in receipt of a pension of £30 per annum. f :e , h *f been for anumber of years residing in New Zealand. A fewdaysagohereceivedfromtheMilitaryAccountants Office £15. a half year's pension, and was taken to the lock-up on Wednesday night in a state of drunkenness. He was liberated next morning on paying the bail. At eleven o'clock m the forenoon he ww seen going through the toll-bar at Newton in a drunken state. He lay down in a field, and was discovered to be dead at three o'clock in the after- - noon The jury found that death was caused by excessive drinking. The deceased was a person' of superior education and gentlemanly deportments • The number of visits paid by clergymen, ladies, and the public, to the Provincial Hospital, during the year 1866. has been as follows : — ladies 101, clergymen of Church of England 250, clergymen of Church of Rome 82, Presbyterian ministers 11, Baptist ministers 48, Independent ministers 8, Wesleyan ministers 15, members of Provincial Council, 15, Commissioner for Sick, &c, 13, medical gentlemen 178, general public 43 ; total 764. The annual examination of the pnpils attending . the Auckland Hebrew Educational Institute will be held, at the Synagogue, to-morrow afternoon. The - Rev. Mr. Elkin, head-master, will conduct the examination, assisted by Mr. Louis Nathan and the Misses Isaacs and Elkin. On Monday evening,' a phantasmagoria entertainment will be provided fo^ the scholars, at Hoffmann's Assembly-rooms;

jfcTbe Provincial Surgeon, in hia annual report, last evening, remarks : — " Then is urgent > need of increased accommodation for female patients, i -who are at present crowded together into two small wards and a garret. Aooording to present arrangements, we are unable to classify these patients, many of whom are of the most degraded sort. Association of the young and virtuous with such must be contaminating • and yet it cannot be entirely avoided. Part of the old asylum might be appropriated, with a view to remedy this evil. In fact, it would be best to remove all the females thither, and devote the whole of the hospital to the males. Thus the present most objectionable praotioe of making beds on the dining-room floor would be obviated. If this cannot be done, to prevent the meeting of male and female patients in the hospital passages, the corridor might be partitioned off, and a separate entrance made for eaoh sex. It is also recommended that the rear of the hospital be enclosed with a wooden fenoe, whioh would have the effeot of rendering the wards more comfortable, and excluding the pnblio gaze. At the present low price of timber and wages, the changes above mentioned might easily be Introdnced. A coal-shed is also greatly needed. Sinoa the last report a very great desideratum has been obtained in laying down water-pipes from the reservoir to the asylum, so that we have now a constant supply of water at all seasons. The work of 'carrying the water from the asylum to the hospital is performed by the oonvalesoent patients." A sailor named Edward Dile, of the ship 'Regina,' was brought ashore last evening, on a warrant, and lodged in the lock-up, on a charge of using threatening language to another of the orew, named William Smith. He will be brought before the Benoh to day. The Rev. S. Edger will conduct divine service at the Parnell Hall to-morrow, when sermons will be preached in the morning on the subject, " What think ye of Christ ? " and in the evening, on the text, "Great Diana aad Greater Jesus, or Old Prejudices and New Truths." The Rev. J. T. Warlow Davies, pastor of the Albert-street Congregational Chapel, will deliver a lecture at that place of worship to-morrow, on the subject : " Religion in relation to our habit?." The annual report of] T. M. Philson, Esq., M.D., Provincial Surgeon, appears in a Provincial Government Gazette, published last evening, from which we make the following extracts: — "The number of patients admitted in the Provincial Hospital during the past year amounted to 716, being 94 more than the previous year. These consisted of 618 males and 98 females. The mortality amounted to only 73, or 8f per cent, of the total admitted, being 21 fewer than the preceding year. This decrease in the number of deaths is most apparent in the class of fevers, of which there has been a great diminution. Of the deaths 57 were males and 16 females. .Among a multitude of minor operations, only one capital one required to be performed, in the case of a man who sustained a compound fracture and dislocation of the left ankle, by the falling of a bank of earth on him while at work in excavating. An attempt was made to save the limb, but this proving futile, the leg was removed below the knee by circular incision, and a very satisfactory result obtained, the patient having been discharged in little more than two months from his admission. There has been a slight numerical increase in the number of cases in the Lunatic Asylum. A few more have been admitted than in the preceding year, a few more have been discharged, a few more have died, and a few more remain; but the ratio is nearly, if not quite, the same as that of 1865. The general health of the lunatics has been good, and nothing has occurred worthy of remark. Several very satisfactory cases of recovery have t»ken place, audit is hoped that, with the increased means of cure available at the New Asylum, next year's report will be more encouraging still in this respect. The New Asylum is now ready for the reception of the lunatics, who will have the advantage of ample accommodation, suitable employment, and enlightened medical supervision. It is needless to say anything about the old house, which was only a make-shift — a prison. Henceforth, thanks to the liberality of the province, | justice will be done to the insane. The amount of sickness among the prisoners at the Mount Eden Gaol during the past year has been somewhat less than the preceding, the total cases treated being 209, of which 19 were females and 30 were Maori?. The number of deaths, however, has been greater than during any previous year ; the amount being 6, , of whom 4 were Maoris." Messrs. Turrell and Tonks will sell, to-day, by public auction, at 11 o'clock, at their mart, potatoes, tea, furniture, groceries, &c. Mr. C. Stichbury announces that he will sell, today, by public auction, at 11 o'clock, at his stores, groceries, drapery, clothing, furniture, flour, skiff, &c?; also, at 12 o'clock, 20 tons Maiden Island guano, in lots to suit purchasers. Mr. Henry Ridings will sell, to-day, by public auction, at 11 o'clock, at the Market Auction Mart, potatoes, onions, porter, kerosine, furniture, piano, revolver, &c. Messrs. Jones and Co. advertise that they will sell, to day, by public auction, at 11 o'clock, at their ma^t, beef, pork, maiz*, flour, ale, porter, wines, spirits, Ac. Messrs. C. Arthur and Son announce that they will' hold their usual weekly sale, to-day, of potatoes, onions, rice, furniture, &c, at 12 o'clock, at their mart. ■ t Mr. George Sibbin will offer for sale to-day, by public auction, at 11 o'clock, at his stores, ale, porter, wines, flour, furniture, &c. ; also, at two o'clock, on the wharf, timber, in lots to suit purchasers. Mr. tAlfred Buckland will sell by public auotion, to-day, at 12 o'clock, at the Haymarket, the racers Nourmahal and Topsy, and other horses. Messrs. Hunter and Co. will offer for sale, to-day, at 11 o'clock, at the Durham-street saleyards, hacks, light harness horses, and heavy and medium draught horses. _____